Destinationbetween with Benjamin Ortega
If there is one person we know who always seems to be living in the Destinationbetween, it’s Benjamin Ortega. He’s traveled constantly over the last couple of years so we figured he would have more than a few useful tips to share on how he actually manages to get things done while living out of bags. Turns out he had a lot of them.
First off, what do you do?
I make videos, and I try to be a better human being every day.
Your life if lived on the move. What does home mean for you?
At the moment, the world is my home.
When you’re on the road, temptation is everywhere and it can be hard not to procrastinate. Do you have any tips on how you focus when you need to get the boring stuff sorted?
I always get distracted by the attractive stuff and hate doing the boring stuff. For example - my accounting and shitty, boring company things which, if you don’t have them in place, can make you late on so many other things.
I keep working on videos with friends, and fill my time with stuff I enjoy so I never end up doing the boring stuff. I think the best tip for getting that kind of thing done, is find someone else to do it - someone who is experienced in it and knows how to run that side of things so that you can focus on the things you love to actually do. It’s really important to work out when to ask for help on things that aren’t your strong suit, it’s something I need to be better at, in fact - I’m going to hire an agent right now!
What do you always bring on your travels?
I always have my main camera and some extra little GoPro cameras to shoot my water stuff. I’ll take a Drone and an FPV drone, a GoPro 360, my computer is always with me, hard drives, and all the cables I need.The other thing I have brought with me, and I have used everyday for the past year is a skipping rope and resistance band, and some running shoes as well so I can squeeze in a workout at least once a day while on the road.
I also always have at least one, if not two Db backpacks on me. Not even for travel - just everyday adventures. The bags are more often than not filled up with all my camera gear - and it all fits in whether it's a multi-day trip or a day trip. I need good gear solutions that allow me to stay organized - which is important when you travel with as much camera equipment as I do.
What would you tell yourself as a teenager?
I would tell myself to always do the things that I have in mind, that I really want to do, and basically to not overthink them before doing them. It’s easier said than done - I’m still doing it and I think that if you allow yourself to overthink, you’ll only do 1/10th of what you’re supposed to do in your life.
Which is your favorite destination?
Wow that's a good question, recently I've been debating which is my favorite place on Earth but I think it's more about the people than the place which sounds cheesy, it makes the whole difference. There are actually two places which when I’m not there, I want to be there. One is Indonesia, specifically Lombok and Bali, because I have lots of friends there and lots of things going on over there. I love the people and everything is so cool. The other place is probably LA but it's more like a place where I want to live. If I can only pick one, it’s Indonesia - it’s the place I love the most.
What would you tell people that would like to follow your path?
First of all, I would like to tell them, thank you because it's very fulfilling to hear that some people would like to do the same things that I'm doing. But, if they are thinking about making videos or taking photos of traveling around the world, I would say that the best thing is to be highly motivated.
This whole journey and what it looks like from the outside seems like I’m always on vacation, but actually, it's a lot of hard work, and definitely way more work than the normal day-to-day run-of-the-mill 9 to 5 usual jobs. If you are motivated enough and you like making videos, just start doing them with your phone with anything you have next to you, and learn from that. The more you d